New upscale grocery slated for Harlem

Goris family signs lease for store at 1660 Madison Ave.

The Goris family, owner of a small chain of grocery stores in the city, is opening an upscale supermarket at 1660 Madison Ave. in Harlem.

Goris Grocers has signed a 15-year lease for 10,185 square feet, or the entire ground floor portion of the 11-story apartment building owned by Frawley Plaza LLC. The asking rent was $40 a square foot.

“The space was already a supermarket, which was really run-down,” said Jonathan Gordon of Admiral Real Estate Services, which represented the landlord in the transaction. Alexandra Alicia Shiros, who works as an independent agent, negotiated on behalf of the tenant.

The building is located just a block from the new site for the Museum of African Art. Mr. Gordon said that Goris identified a demand a high-end supermarket as the area has been spruced up in recent years.

“They’re going to offer convenience,” he said. “They’ll devote a lot of the sale space to pre-prepared food.”

The opening, which is scheduled to take place in early 2011, comes on the heels of Goris losing a lease at the 240-unit Toren skyscraper in downtown Brooklyn, as reported by The Brooklyn Paper last month. Goris Grocers has four or five other locations, according to Mr. Gordon.